Veracity Media is a digital consulting firm that works with progressive campaigns and non-profits to make the world a better place.

How do you make voting cool? The folks at HeadCount know: wed it with something people are passionate about - music. Our team was stoked to make HeadCount a new website that rocks just as much as their audience! The new HeadCount.org is probably the coolest site we’ve ever built.
HeadCount is a non-partisan organization that works with musicians to promote participation in democracy. Given that they do the majority of their work at concerts and festivals, a uniquely energetic and lively space, their new website needed to reflect that energy, vibrance, and action.
Working with HeadCount was a great experience not only because we got to use our creative team to its full extent, but because we always love working alongside synergistic organizations and like-minded teams. It was a privilege to work together to pursue both Veracity’s and HeadCount’s goal of getting more folks participating in our democracy, speaking out, and ultimately heard in crowded spaces. Here’s how they do it:
Inform their audience about voting rights and much needed voter info, like how and when to register, and which IDs are needed on election day.
Recruit volunteers who, to take words right from HeadCount, “Register voters at concerts with HeadCount. Meet cool people, see great music, and change the world one voter at a time."
Ensuring that both of HeadCount’s priorities were met without overwhelming visitors was key, alongside creating a voter info hub and volunteer hub that are visually appealing, engaging, and above all, easy to use.
To emphasize HeadCount’s goals, once a visitor scrolls past the introductory portion of the page (pictured above), with the two main calls-to-action, “Register to Vote” and “Volunteer,” they are reminded again through energetic, eye-catching design and engaging content that HeadCount is a resource for voters, and a community of volunteers.
We had a blast designing and developing HeadCount's new site, and are proud of the work our team put in.
Want to see more? Make sure to check out HeadCount’s killer new site, and reach out if you, your campaign or organization is looking for a next-level Veracity custom website!

Lucy McBath for Congress (Candidate for GA 6th)

Lucia “Lucy” McBath is a mother, wife, businesswoman and activist for social justice. After a 30-year career with Delta Air Lines, her second career has focused on reform that will make our communities safer and better for every American of every background.
Lucy’s passion for public service was awakened by her family’s tragedy in 2012. She is the mother of Jordan Davis, who was shot and killed at a gas station in Jacksonville, Fla. that year by a man objecting to the music he was playing in his car. The shooter used Florida’s stand-your-ground law as his defense. He was not found guilty of murder in his first trial. In an October 2014 retrial, the shooter was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Losing her son in such a senseless way has fueled her lifelong commitment to community activism and the importance of political engagement. Early on, McBath’s sense of public service came from an extensive family background involving civil rights. Her father was the Illinois Branch president of the NAACP for over twenty years and served on its national board as well. As a child, she traveled with her family attending marches and rallies supporting the civil rights movement and the coalitions of organizations fighting alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her mother was a registered nurse, often helping students completing coursework with tutoring and other support to further their healthcare careers.
Before running for Congress, Lucy held dual roles as the national spokesperson for Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, as well as Faith and Outreach Leader for both. Her work included testifying in state capitols and speaking with lawmakers, activists, universities and community organizers across the county. In Washington, D.C. she has testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, lobbied members of Congress, and spoke at the White House Summit on Educational Excellence for African Americans. She served as a surrogate for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign in 2016 as one of the “Mothers of The Movement”. Here at home, McBath lobbies Georgia’s Congressional, State House and State Senate delegations to enact common sense gun violence prevention laws that save lives.
Lucy’s work in her home community in Cobb County includes creating the “Champion in The Making Legacy Foundation” which provides charitable and educational assistance to graduating high school students attending traditional as well as technical and training colleges and universities – with two recipients attending Kennesaw State University. The foundation has expanded its program with its mentorship program which provides support and guidance in building life skills for the young men and women striving for academic success, with an incubator headquartered in Powder Springs. She serves as Lead Usher at Trinity Chapel (Seven Springs Church) and is an active member with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Marietta / Roswell alumni chapter. McBath’s work has been recognized widely. She is honored to have been the recipient of the Chairman’s Award of the Georgia Democratic Party in 2017, “Mother of the Year 2016” by VH1 Television, voted as one of Refinery29’s 26 National Treasures, and an EMILY’s List Honoree. Her media appearances include Georgia Public Television, CNN, MSNBC, HLN, TV One and her son’s story has been featured in Jet, Rolling Stone, and Ebony and Essence magazines and in the documentaries “The Armor of Light” and “3 ½ Minutes: 10 Bullets.” She received her B.A. degree in political science from Virginia State University in 1982. Lucy is married, and these days, doesn’t have a lot of free time, but when she does she enjoys motorcycling, serving her church, and walking her beloved dogs.

DETAILS

DETAILS

Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

On September 4, 2018 Ayanna Pressley made history. She beat a 10-term incumbent by 18 points, and will soon become the first woman of color to ever represent Massachusetts in Congress.
While her win can -- and should -- be attributed to a variety of unique factors, the campaign's distinctly modern and fast-moving digital strategy program played a significant role. Here we provide an update on Veracity’s earlier Ayanna Pressley for Congress case study, with a special focus on the final six weeks of the campaign.
The digital strategies outlined below helped Pressley’s campaign outpace fundraising goals, greatly expand the electorate -- more than doubling the number of voters who turned out compared to the 2016 primary -- and, ultimately, make history.
"The Veracity team provided exactly the type of nimble partnership you need when you're running a responsive, grassroots campaign. Their ability to work with us to produce content responsive to what we were hearing on the doors or at community events in the district was invaluable. They brought a winning combination of industry expertise and openness that allowed us to run a strong digital program that was right for our district and this campaign."
- Sarah Groh (Campaign Manager, Ayanna Pressley for Congress)
Digital Advertising
Spending Smarter, Not More (The Surround-Sound Effect)
Throughout the campaign, Capuano outraised and outspent Pressley -- not uncommon given his status as a longtime incumbent. But Veracity and the A-Team spent smarter, not more. This was especially apparent in the allocation of digital advertising resources in the final six weeks before Election Day.
Capuano’s campaign spent more than double the amount Pressley’s campaign spent on digital ads. However, throughout the entire campaign, Capuano’s team launched 39 ad variations on Facebook. Of those 39, only six variations launched in the final six weeks -- all of which were English-language ads with only two text variations and the same visual (a single video). In contrast, Veracity launched over 500 unique ad variations on Facebook, with ~200 of those variations launching in the final six weeks.
These numbers indicate that the Capuano campaign ran ads with minimal segmentation or targeting.
By contrast, Veracity launched hyper-targeted and highly-segmented ads on a regular basis. This allowed the Pressley campaign to reach different sectors of the electorate with advertisements relevant to their concerns and background, including ads in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Mandarin Chinese.
Text and creative were also updated throughout the final weeks with information relevant to that time period. The creative updates meant our target audiences were able to receive a high frequency of Pressley ads without experiencing fatigue.
Veracity’s close coordination and collaboration with the campaign’s direct mail program allowed for a “surround sound” effect timed with the release of their mail pieces. This meant voters receiving the campaign’s mailers then saw social and programmatic advertisements that echoed the imagery and messaging of the physical mail they had received.
Veracity also worked to create an internet-wide “surround sound” effect by taking advantage of several platforms, including persistent programmatic display, pre-roll advertisements, and the new (beta) Daily Kos takeover program. The programmatic ads were targeted to follow the most likely Democratic primary voters within the 7th District around the internet, regardless of which sites they visited. And the takeover program allowed for a full site DailyKos takeover within the district for the entire final week of the campaign.
Across digital advertising platforms, the informative focus of content -- along with detailed targeting -- helped Pressley’s campaign greatly expand the electorate.
Video Releases & Graphics
Amplifying & Customizing
A major asset to the Pressley campaign’s digital efforts was the wealth of high-quality photos and videos provided by the campaign. This allowed Veracity to create a great deal of visual variations and custom-tailored imagery across advertisements, graphics, emails, website, etc.
During the campaign, Veracity guided the release of four videos: Why I’m Running, The 1 Bus, Hispanic Community Endorsements, and The Power of Us. This included cross-platform launches (e.g. YouTube, Facebook/Instagram, Twitter), multi-lingual captioning assistance, the creation of unique video donation pages, advertisements, and more. In total, these four videos brought in over $15,000 for the campaign and were viewed over 250,000 times.
Throughout the campaign, Veracity created graphics for emails, endorsements, policy announcements, events, and more.
Digital Fundraising & More
Outpacing Expectations
Since the campaign launch, Veracity has managed the Pressley campaign’s email program, website, and digital fundraising generally.
Website Spotlight: Voter Information
In August, Veracity launched a Voter Information page. This page featured embedded voter registration and vote plan forms, which hundreds of voters used to register before the August 15th voter registration deadline and to make a vote plan up until Election Day. The page also featured links to state resources, which voters could use to find their polling place and check their voter registration status. Finally, in the last days of the campaign, the page prominently featured a voter information hotline number which voters could call for information and/or a ride to the polls.
In the month leading up to Election Day, this page accounted for 24% of all site visits. Veracity believes the accessibility of this information was key to the Pressley campaign’s success at expanding the electorate.
Summary
Making History Together
Ayanna Pressley ran a historical and groundbreaking campaign on many levels. Veracity believes one major key to her success was the way in which her campaign understood, valued, and took advantage of the capabilities of digital media.
From their January launch through the September Election Day and beyond, the entire Veraci-Team is immensely proud to be part of the A-Team. Together, we proved #ChangeCantWait!
Ayanna Pressley and Maïca (Veracity's Advertising & Nonprofit Strategy Director) on Election Day
“The level of professionalism and expertise Veracity has brought to this campaign cannot be overstated. They really are the model that we talk to folks about when we say how wonderful our consultant team is. The work Veracity does consistently goes above and beyond and we couldn’t be happier with it.”
- Ryan Hand (Communications Director, Ayanna Pressley for Congress)
APRIL 2018 - CAMPAIGN LAUNCH CASE STUDY
When Ayanna Pressley decided to buck the status quo by announcing “Change can’t wait!” and running for Congress against an 18-year incumbent, Massachusetts’ usually-predictable 7th District suddenly garnered national attention.
Veracity Media was with the A-Team from the start, building a rapid-response splash site for her launch announcement and helping craft Pressley’s opening messages to the public via email, social media, and digital advertisements.
Since the campaign launch, Veracity has built an expanded Ayanna Pressley for Congress website which fully captures Pressley’s background and plan for the 7th District’s future on an intuitive and responsive platform. See the full site here >>
Veracity also provides ongoing email marketing, digital advertising, graphic design, and web development services to the A-Team. Through this, we’ve enabled the campaign to react to developments with high-quality, rapid-response emails, graphics, and other digital work, such as petition, event, and volunteer landing pages.
For example, when Pressley released her first campaign video, Veracity helped coordinate a rapid-response, multi-lingual launch across various platforms -- including YouTube, Facebook (both organic content and paid advertisements), Twitter, ActBlue (including a highly shared Spanish- language donation page), and the campaign website. In just two weeks, the video was viewed over 100,000 times and directly raised the campaign $5,000 -- with 60% of donations under $35.
In just over two months from the campaign launch, Veracity raised $138,000 online for the A-Team -- even before investing in email acquisition. Veracity boosted Pressley’s online fundraising from the start of the campaign, delivering a return on investment of over 1000%. This boost was especially apparent once we began running digital ads, which nearly paid for themselves in immediate contributions.
In addition to online fundraising, Veracity provides in-house design to help give Pressley the branding necessary for a successful local and national campaign.

our services

digital strategyconsulting

We create + execute all aspects of a robust digital strategy: a versatile website, production of digital content, list growth, + engagement -- all coordinated through an adaptive strategy built on exhaustive analytics + regular projections.

websitedevelopment

We build action-oriented sites that boast a universally friendly web experience. Specializing in the Wordpress CMS, we revolutionize your online presence in a matter of days.

community strategyconsulting

We leverage modern digital best-practices + years of diverse experience to help campaigns + non-profits cultivate networks of influencers + longterm supporters, + activate them at critical moments.

graphic +brand design

We take your message + goals, + craft them into a beautiful + logical design. From logos to websites, shareable graphics, apps, + more. Veracity elevates everything you do with thoughtful design.

digitaladvertising

Using cutting edge micro-targeted advertising platforms + strategies, we make sure your message is perfectly crafted + gets where it needs to go.

email marketing + fundraising

We know that your email list is much more than a list. It's a living, breathing, network of supporters + donors. We engage your network through unique + detailed messaging that builds relationships + encourages small dollar donations.

our vision + culture

We're a small group of smart, driven, and talented people.

Veracity Media is a social-impact digital strategy firm specializing in political campaigns and non-profit advocacy based in the heart of Washington, D.C. Our mission is to help organizations and elected officials get their message out by engaging their audiences and turning them into active supporters who can be tapped to achieve programmatic goals.

We want to help people make the world a better place.

We amplify others' ability to make the world a better place. Our vision is to to advance progressive causes by carefully selecting the projects our team works on. We aren't guns for hire. We work at the local, state, national, + global levels to support progressive campaigns, non-profits, + companies focused on positive social impact.

DC is what we call

careers

Veracity Media is a progressive digital strategy + political consulting firm based in Washington D.C. We're working with Democrats to take back the House, as well as on down-ballot races + ever-increasing non-profit activism all across the country. We're (pretty much) always looking for scrappy, tech-savvy Veraci-team members to run effective + comprehensive digital campaigns.